Slip rings are electromechanical structures that are commonly used for passing electrical signals between the interior and exterior components of rotating cylindrical structures sharing a common axis of rotation. Slip rings can be used to transmit power and data between a stationary component and a rotating component, where one or both of the interior or exterior cylindrical structures may rotate. Electrical connection between the interior and exterior cylindrical structures is often accomplished through the use of metallic brush fibers that provide the physical contact necessary for an electrical current to pass between the cylindrical structures.
Referring to FIG. 1, physical connectivity between exterior and interior cylindrical structures has also been accomplished through the use of rolling slip ring structures. In a rolling slip ring structure 100, mechanical and electrical connectivity between an outer ring 102 and an inner ring 106 is obtained through the use of a center ring 104. When either or both of the outer ring 102 and inner ring 106 are rotating, the center ring 104 provides a low friction structure for maintaining physical connectivity between the outer ring 102 and inner ring 106. When the outer ring 102, center ring 104, and inner fiber 106 are all fashioned from electrically conductive materials, electrical signals can propagate through the three possibly rotating rings, transferring power and data through the entire slip ring structure. Rolling slip rings can provide a low friction, low torque mechanism for maintaining physical connectivity between potentially rotating interior and exterior components. Due to the small friction present between the various components, rolling slip rings can have a longer mechanical life compared to slip rings incorporating metallic fiber brush connections between interior and exterior components. The modular nature of the rings in such rolling slip ring architecture can also provide for easier maintenance of components compared to slip rings incorporating integrated metallic fiber brush connections.
The speed at which data is transferred through such a rolling slip ring architecture 100 is limited by the speed at which data can be transmitted through the electrically conductive pathway of the center ring's 104 interior and exterior contact points with the inner 106 and outer 102 rings. Typically, maximum data rates achieved through electrical connections in such a rolling slip ring architectures are on the order of tens to hundreds of Mb/sec.